Chapter 128 Pervert with a Grudge (3)

The scarlet tongues of the flame crackled as the iron melted. umps of iron burned red as they flowed down. With every pull of the magic bellows, Ritlen’s shoulder blades protruded through his developed arms.

His taut back was drenched and glistening with sweat.

Pouring down the completely molten iron ignited the flames. The heat was overpowering.

Drops of sweat slowly rolled down his well-defined muscles.

While the molten iron cooled, Ritlen began to reheat the other alloy that had begun to cool down.

Sparks flew.

The scarlet glow and dark shadows scrambled over Ritlen’s sweat-soaked body.

“Haa…”

Aristine exhaled.

She felt like she was getting suffocated by the scorching heat. It felt so hot and she was just standing still, so imagine how it felt for Ritlen who was moving right in front of the fire.

However, Ritlen didn’t look troubled at all. On the contrary, he looked more serious than ever.

His lips were tightly pressed, his forehead was slightly strained, and his eyes were extremely focused. The usual affableness on his face was nowhere to be found.

‘As expected.’

Aristine nodded her head at her dependable employee.

‘He’s definitely a blacksmith.’

Unlike his innocent face that reminded you of a large and gentle dog, Ritlen’s physique was rugged.

From his shoulders to his arms, back and stomach, he was covered with firm and well-defined muscles. Since refining and tempering required him to move around heavy iron, he had naturally developed muscles.

‘I have to work hard too.’

Aristine checked the data chart.

“The percentage is the same as the last one.”

“Yes, let’s try a different pressure and heat.”

Ritlen placed the alloy on the anvil and began to hammer down heavily.

A sharp and shrill noise resounded in the forge every time the iron collided.

Somehow, that clear but harsh echo sounded like the song of iron to Aristine.

“Huu.”

Ritlen wiped the sweat from his forehead.

His disheveled golden-brown hair was drenched with sweat, making it look darker than usual.

‘This won’t work…!’

The more he hammered, the more that feeling arose.

An air-splitting sound shook the room. The hammer strayed off course and slammed on the corner of the anvil, making a loud noise. The hammered steel slipped out of place and fell to the ground.

The red-hot steel could not withstand the force of the hammer and caved in.

‘Oh…’

Aristine looked at the state of the alloy that fell to the floor with amazement. Ritlen always seemed very soft, so she didn’t expect him to have such a rough side.

Ritlen gathered his breath. With each inhale and exhale, his pectoral muscle swelled, and his sturdy shoulders rose up and down.

Aristine briefly waited for him to calm down before asking.

“What’s wrong? Is it no good?”

“…”

Ritlen didn’t answer right away; he placed the hammer back on the anvil and poured water on the iron that had been previously heated.

Steam arose from the reaction, causing white fog in the air.

“I’m sorry.”

Ritlen’s face was obscured by the fog.

She could only tell that his jaw was tighter than usual.

“It is not as tough as expected. With this, a thin scalpel blade will break easily.”

His voice was still as soft as always but there was a slight edge to his voice along with some anxiousness.

“Hmm…”

Aristine looked at the steel that Ritlen dropped and seeing that it had cooled down somewhat, she kicked it away. She watched as it rolled over to the scrap pile then she turned her head.

Over there were various types of stainless-steel, soaking inside water. Even though it had been quite some time, they were all yet to rust.

It was not that hard to make an alloy by mixing iron, nickel, and chromium.

‘The problem is the ratio.’

When the nickel ratio is small, the processability declines, and when it’s too much, the cost rises.

‘The processing method is also a problem.’

The hardness, rust resistance, heat resistance, etc. were slightly different depending on the ratio of the mixture or any additional substance added and the processing method.

Ritlen was currently trying to find out which would be the best combination for a medical scalpel.

‘Honestly, I was planning to compromise to some extent when we started this.’

As this was an area that Aristine was unfamiliar with, she planned to use it right away if it rusted slowly and had no particular problems.

That alone was enough to call it revolutionary.

It was on a different level from innovating the design of the medical scalpel.

Stainless steel was a highly versatile metal that was used practically everywhere on Earth.

‘I think the same thing could happen here too.’

Aristine’s eyes sparkled as she recalled the stainless-steel products that herself had used in Korea.

‘It won’t just be a hit. It will be a huge hit!’

It was past the level of striking it rich or sitting on a pile of money.

‘Should I buy a building in the capital of every country?’

It was at the level where she could dream of that.

After divorcing Tarkan, it would be nice to travel freely to places that she had only seen in the Monarch’s Sight.

When she thought of the money, her heart began to pound and flutter.

But for now, her first-class, outstanding employee was having a crisis.

Aristine turned to Ritlen.